Urban Core

The Urban Core is CITYterm's signature curriculum. Classes are woven together in an interdisciplinary design that facilitates and challenges students’ thinking and builds their skills as learners. Students receive academic credit for all three courses.

Urban Core Courses

The Urban Core curriculum is an interdisciplinary, honors-level study of the history, literature and urban environments of New York City. Students recieve credit for History of New York City (Honors), Literature of New York City (Honors) and Urban Environments of New York City (Honors).

The Urban Core curriculum examines the different cognitive skills and techniques that historians, artists, writers, and scientists use to capture their particular understanding of New York City. Urban Core courses meet three days each week in the classroom and three days in New York City.

The curriculum is project-driven to fully engage students in the content and the learning process. The Urban Core is comparable to Advanced Placement courses in terms of workload and academic rigor.

See Sample Projects

Authorship Seminar Series

Each semester, students meet with a diverse group of New Yorkers — authors, photographers, urban planners, Broadway Producers, former Mayors and more — as part of the Urban Core’s Authorship Seminar Series.

Students receive academic credit for all three courses. Urban Core classes are woven together in an interdisciplinary design that facilitates and challenges students’ thinking and builds their skills as learners.

The Urban Core classes put so many ideas in your head that you can’t help but open your eyes and your ears to the world in ways you might never have before.